The Bank of Ghana is testing cross-border interoperability using central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, bank accounts and mobile wallets.
This is being implemented in the corridors between Rwanda and Nigeria.
The pilots in the two corridors have been designed to test whether different forms of money can move seamlessly across borders without passing through correspondent banks outside the continent.
The central bank has also extended the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, (PAPSS) to mobile wallets in the Ghana–Nigeria corridor, marking a shift from bank-only settlement to inclusion of mobile money.
Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, the Governor, Bank of Ghana, made the disclosure at a high-level event on the margins of the 2026 International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Group (WBG) annual meetings in Bangkok on Tuesday.
The event was on the theme: “Digital innovations in payments; SSA future Agenda,” on the back of the continent moving beyond adoption to scaling digital payments that delivered efficiency, inclusion and stability across the region.
“The Bank is testing cross-border interoperability using CBDCs, stablecoins, bank accounts and mobile wallets in the Ghana–Rwanda and Ghana–Nigeria corridors and has extended PAPSS to mobile wallets in the Ghana–Nigeria corridor,” Dr Asiama said.
He explained that the objective was to move the pilots to live services, building on existing infrastructure such as PAPSS rather than creating new systems, with the interoperability testing to meet users where they already transacted.
He said bringing mobile wallets onto PAPSS could allow a trader in Accra to pay a supplier in Lagos instantly in local currency, without needing a dollar intermediary or a foreign correspondent bank.
The Central Bank Governor said with mobile wallets were dominant in both Ghana and Nigeria, and Rwanda becoming a key partner for regulatory innovation, the partnership between Ghana, Rwanda and Nigeria was strategically important.
He stated that until now, PAPSS largely operated a bank-to-bank system, limiting its reach to customers who are already banked, while most cross-border trade was driven by mobile money users.
The new approach, he said, reflected a growing consensus among African central banks that interoperability, not new infrastructure, was the key to reducing costs and improving speed and transparency.
“The future of African payments will not be defined by a single technology, and central banks should not determine which technology succeeds. Our role is to ensure that emerging systems are safe, efficient, resilient and inclusive,” Dr Asiama said.
He called for enhanced regional collaboration to build a safe, efficient, and inclusive payment ecosystem that supports Africa’s trade, investment, and long-term development ambitions.
On regulation, the Central Bank Governor raised concerns over African fintechs facing costly and duplicative licensing in each market they entered, even where the activities and risks were similar.
“Our Licence Passporting Framework with the National Bank of Rwanda offers a practical model, and we are engaging more than 10 countries to join. We would welcome its adoption as a regional approach, alongside common standards for payment messaging, payee verification, and fraud data sharing,” he said.